Engage Disciplinarily and Interdisciplinarily

Students will be able to define American Studies as a distinct discipline with its own intellectual history, analytical strategies, and scholarly methodologies even as they draw from and converse with other disciplines examining the American experience.

Analyze Rigorously

Students will be able to read critically and analyze a variety of cultural texts and artifacts using the theoretical approaches central to the field of American Studies. Students will develop the skills necessary to analyze their peers' writing and their own writing with an eye towards composition and revision.

Communicate Persuasively

Students will construct a conference length (8-10 page) paper employing purposeful rhetorical moves, responsible research strategies, and American Studies methods to develop a coherent and logical argument that makes a significant claim. Students will mature as writers as they devise productive and flexible individual and collaborative processes of writing, including methods for gathering evidence, organizing their argument, prewriting, drafting, revising, editings, proofreading, and peer reviewing.